Walgreen Co. cleared in discrimination suit

February 14, 2007

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A jury Tuesday cleared Walgreen Co. of racial discrimination alleged in a $2.5 million civil lawsuit brought by four black Texas men who say they were wronged in a confrontation at a Reno drug store four years ago. The jury in Washoe County District Court deliberated less than an hour after listening to seven days of testimony. In their lawsuit, the four men claimed that a photo lab clerk shouted a racial slur, slammed a door and denied them service after they complained about the quality of their photographs at the downtown Reno store in February 2003. Walgreens' lawyers acknowledged the clerk slammed a door and walked off the job but denied the clerk uttered the n-word and maintained the incident was a case of poor customer service absent any racial bias. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said they would appeal the case to the Nevada Supreme Court. "We're not done," Ian Silverberg told The Associated Press. He said the appeal would challenge some rulings "that kept out a lot of information that I think should have gone to the jury about what Walgreens knew" about the clerk accused of the misconduct.